Year in Review: The conventional wisdom on Ian Stewart is that the strikeouts will be his limiting factor, and 840 plate appearances in, the 33.9% strikeout percentage is definitely high. It has certainly contributed to his low batting average (.238 career), but the team is willing to look past the flaw because of his good defense at third base (7.3 UZR/150 career) and the burgeoning power (.235 ISO in 2009, .217 career). But is it a fait accompli that Stewart will fan almost a third of the time and put in another poor batting average in 2010? There are glimmers of hope in Stewart's numbers. Consider that he has cut his strikeout rate every year and that his reach rate has gone all the way from 35.6% in his debut to 22% last year. His contact rates have also increased as he's played more. Last, his minor league strikeout rate was not terrible (23.5%).

The Year Ahead: The tools are there, and scouts have felt that Stewart was an exciting prospect for a while now. No matter what, Stewart will flash his good power in 2010 and will play good defense. But fantasy fans want to know about the batting average, really. It's tempting to see the bad BABIP last year (.275) and the progress he's made in the strikeout department, and then look at his line drive rate last year (14%) and think that he can up the line drives, cut the strikeouts a little more, get better bounces, and put up an okay batting average. Bill James did most of that and projected a .255 batting average, though, so perhaps he was aware that Stewart did not have great line drive rates in the minors. Stewart is a better head-to-head or bench roto pick in fantasy because of the batting average problems. (Eno Sarris)

Profile: For a third straight season, Stewart turned in an adequate offensive showing that hardly stood out considering the friendly confines of Coors. Stewart hit .256/.338/.443 in 441 plate appearances, missing nearly a month with an oblique injury suffered in late August and once again seeing limited action versus lefty pitching. He managed a double-digit walk rate for the second year in a row, drawing ball four in 10.2% of his plate appearances, though eight of those were intentionals coming as a result of his low spot in the batting order. His .187 ISO fell well short of his .235 mark in 2009. A lefty swinger, Stewart hasn't shown a glaring platoon split when allowed to face same-handed pitching. His line in 294 career PA versus left-handers is .234/.330/.430, compared to .248/.332/.457 in 988 PA against righties. But while Melvin Mora is gone, Stewart again figures to sit against some southpaws with Ty Wigginton and Jose Lopez now in the fold. Another negative for Stewart's 2011 value is that he will lose second-base eligibility in most leagues after not playing an inning at the keystone last year. (David Golebiewski)

The Quick Opinion: If Stewart hit in a less hospitable environent, his disappointing offensive numbers would be more apparent -- in nearly 1,300 career PA, his lumber has been 1% worse than the average batter once park and league factors are accounted for. He'll play next season at age 26 and he does get to call Coors home, but he needs to become more than an average hitter to live up to his past prospect billing.

Profile: It would be hard to imagine having a worse year than the year Stewart had. The third baseman was injured on literally the first play of Spring Training, and it was all downhill from there. He posted a 13 wRC+ at the major league level, which was the worst in the Majors (minimum 100 plate appearances). Much of this can be attributed to the poor fashion in which the Rockies handled him. The Rockies hedged their bets from the beginning of the season, carrying three third basemen, and then overreacted to a slow start and sent Stewart to the minors after just 28 PA. Stewart certainly didn’t do himself any favors in his two other brief forays in Denver, but this is a player who had a three-year track record of being worth at least a win -- he is better than what he showed last year. The Cubs agreed, and will give him a shot to be their third basemen. If he wins the job, he could be a good sleeper. (Paul Swydan)

The Quick Opinion: While he had an abysmal 2011 campaign, a fresh start in a new organization may be just what the doctor ordered for Stewart, and he could get that start on Chicago’s north side.

Profile: Ian Stewart came to Chicago in hopes of reinvigorating his career as a power-hitting infielder, but injuries limited him to just 55 games, in which he did not even outplay his eventual replacement, Luis Valbuena. Stewart will have another chance in 2013, but he looks now than he ever like a stopgap for Josh Vitters. Buy way, way low if you care to buy at all. (Bradley Woodrum)